


Assistant Lifeguard

by PineTrain



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: F/M, Flirting, Lifeguards, Matchmaking, Swimming Pools, Water Balloon Fights
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-12
Updated: 2018-07-12
Packaged: 2019-06-09 08:17:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15263247
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PineTrain/pseuds/PineTrain





	Assistant Lifeguard

“Daaaang, girl, you lookin’ gooooood!” Mabel said, waggling her eyebrows as she gave the older girl a gratuitous up-down while she stepped down the stairs of the Mystery Shack: Their meet-up place before heading to the pool this Saturday. She had thought Dipper would be here too, but apparently he was already at their destination.

“Hell yeah I am,” Wendy responded with a large smirk as she reached the bottom and set a hand on her hip, the other holding the clothes she would wear over her swimsuit on the drive. Her strongly muscled appearance was hardly an expression of traditional femininity, but she took great pride in it specifically because of that fact and she had definitely wanted to show it off ASAP even if Mabel was the only current audience.

She’d just returned yesterday from a year-and-a-half working at a far northern lumber mill in the darkest depths of Forbidden Canada. A place where strength won respect, not looks. Still, she liked how strength didn’t necessarily mean she lost those looks, instead enjoying how the two complemented each other rather nicely with visibly hard muscles that matched her sharp jawline. It wasn’t exactly a bikini-body, like Mabel’s softer hourglass shape, but she always preferred one-pieces (like her current sleek, red attire) better anyways. They were more Olympian, a style she personally found much more impressive these days.

“Yeeesss, gooood,” Mabel chuckled mischievously.

Wendy’s smirk fell. “Mabel, what are you up-”

“Nothin’! Let’s go!” the 18-year-old shouted, grabbing Wendy’s arm and yanking her out the front door. Stumbling along, she rolled her eyes as she tried to one-handedly slip clothes over her bathing suit while she was dragged outside, finishing after they arrived at their transportation and she was released.

They were taking a rather less decrepit car than the one Soos had used the last time she was in Gravity Falls. One with proper lights, a few less dents, and tires bereft of any duct tape. Business had been good when she was gone, but she did sort of miss that old heap and how it was held together by a thread (literally, near the tailpipe). Rolling down the window while they drove, she half-listened to Mabel’s chatter as she watched half-familiar sights pass them by. 

The changes were small, but there nonetheless. Some new houses appeared, some old ones disappeared. Less significant things like a chopped down tree, and more significant things like how Greasy’s Diner seemed a fair bit nicer on the outside now (no doubt the influence of a particular blonde waitress who'd been working there). Wendy figured that was why it felt so nice being back here: Things were familiar, yet different. Comforting in the nostalgic sort of way, but also interesting in the new sort of way.

When they reached the pool’s parking lot at a speed far above the limit, Mabel slammed the brakes and spun the wheel, sending the car into a violent spin with tires screeching harshly as they scrapped across the pavement. When they finally stopped, they had arrived perfectly between the white lines of a parking spot, several trails of black showing their exact path there. Too late to prepare herself for that heart-pounding maneuver, Wendy remembered that Mabel had mentioned obsessively watching the The Quick and the Quarrellous movies recently as they drove over. Such was the punishment for not paying full attention to Mabel’s words.

“Pretty slick, huh?” the younger girl giggled, a violent twinkle in her eyes when she turned to Wendy.

“Sure, slick,” Wendy said, giving a thumbs up. “Don’t forget to buy Soos new tires if you’re gonna drive his car like that.”

“Huh? Oh! Yeah, nuts…” Mabel responded, grimacing as reality set in. After a few seconds, she shook her head and gleamed brightly, “Well, that’s for later. Let’s live in the now, girlfriend!” She snickered and repeated very quietly, “Heh, girlfriend…”

Wendy wasn’t sure if Mabel knew she’d still said it loud enough to hear, but the energetic girl was already leaping out of the car so she followed suit. They gathered their towels and other gear and headed towards the gate of Gravity Falls’ pool. A smile spread over her face as memories of lifeguarding here during Summers returned. Good times, good times.

“BLAMMO!” Mabel cried, kicking the gate wide open and surprising Wendy out of nostalgia. She dropped everything she was carrying and tilted into a full sprint towards the water, screaming “YALALALALALALALALALALA” all the way.

*FWEEEEEEEEEEEE*

“NO RUN- MABEL IS THAT YOU?! GOoooSHDARNIT!”

Mabel front-flipped into pool at top speed, managing to land perfectly, and painfully, flat on her back. While the sight of her friend miserably sinking held Wendy’s attention for a moment, she then turned it towards the lifeguard tower. A young, brown-haired man stood with a whistle hanging at his chest. One foot by his chair, the other on the top step, and his face a mixture of irritation and mirth while he supported his position with a hand on the railing.

Wendy raised an eyebrow, swiftly recognizing Mabel’s brother, though somewhat surprised by his current appearance. She wasn’t sure if she’d ever seen him fully tanned before, and his muscles had grown quite a bit since she’d been gone. It was still pretty early into Summer, so he wouldn’t have been able to achieve those kind of results if he’d only started lifeguarding when he made his annual trip to Gravity Falls. He must have been doing some sort of body work before then.

Mabel eventually emerged from the water on the opposite side of the pool. “30 minutes in pool jail, Mabel!” Dipper yelled.

“Make me, copper!”

Dipper’s eyes narrowed and he reached into the lifeguard’s stand to retrieve a water balloon. He flung it at her but she dove away, rolling towards a pool chair and coming up with a balloon of her own. Awfully convenient, so probably planted the night before. 

Mabel’s chuck was wide, however, due to her tossing it without any proper stability. Instantly reacting, Dipper leapt from his perch, time slowing as Wendy watched him spiral through the air. He twirled gracefully, catching the errant balloon mid-flight and allowing its momentum to gradually match his so it didn’t burst as he transferred it from hand to hand before flinging it back to its source.

There were simultaneous splashes as Dipper struck the water and the balloon struck Mabel’s face. Cheers sprang from the pool patrons while Mabel dramatically "died” with plenty of gasps and moans of pain. She flopped onto an empty pool chair right as her brother reemerged from the water. A second round of cheers went up.

“30 minutes, Mabel!” he called, ignoring the applause. Just before he dove under and began swimming back to his perch, though, Wendy noticed him forcing down a smile.

She headed towards the lifeguard tower, watching as Mabel sat up and appeared to utter a quiet “Yeah yeah.” The younger girl noticed Wendy’s gaze and grinned, shooting her a wink before marching away. She might have been a bit surprised by what Mabel had done, but she wouldn't say the same about why she'd obviously done it. She also couldn't say Mabel hadn't succeeded since she was definitely impressed with Dipper’s unknowing display.

She crouched at the edge as he arrived and waited until he'd popped up and wiped the water from his eyes. “Yo,” she said in a most supremely casual manner.

“Wendy!” he exclaimed, his eyebrows popping up much like the rest of him just had. “I thought you were coming back next week!”

“I guess Mabel fudged what I told her a bit,” Wendy responded. She supposed she'd have to call both of them in the future if she didn't want to fall into Mabel’s plans again. “Lifeguard, huh? She didn't say anything about that.”

“Yeah, I joined the swim team at school and I think it finally convinced Poolcheck to forgive me for that stuff years ago. ‘Responsibility and teamwork’ and all that.” He looked over at his sister sitting cross-armed in pool jail. “Kind of suspicious, the stuff with the phone… Maybe I should give her another 30 minutes,” he muttered, turning back and placing his hands on the edge.

Before he could lift himself out of the water, Wendy thrust her own in front of his face. He blinked at it in surprise, then took it with a blank look. Wendy lifted him upwards bodily, noting she actually had to strain a bit as she did so. She had seen his muscles, yes, but it was another thing to actually feel how they added to his weight.

“30 minutes is a lot, dude. You running a tight ship since I've been gone?” she asked as she set him down.

“Wow- er, I…” he shook his head. “Mabel’s a repeat offender. I usually do 10 minutes or less.” He held one hand to his elbow and the other to his chin, giving her an up-down just like Mabel had, but Wendy unfortunately wasn't prepared to pose this time. “Jeez, you really… I dunno, just wow.”

Wendy actually felt a bit self-conscious at his ambiguous words. But she wasn't going to flinch. “I really…?”

Dipper laughed and rubbed at his wet hair, his fingers quickly catching in the tangles. He jerked them out with a smile as awkward as the action. “Filled out? That sounds wrong, but I don't know how else to say it.”

“Eh?” she grinned, leaning over and pressing a finger to his pec, bouncing it against the firm resistance. “This guy's gonna talk about me filling out?” Wendy chastised.

Dipper flushed, crossing his arms and shifting to knock away her jab. “I mean, you look good, but, yeah, I don't know how to say it…”

Wendy enjoyed how obvious it was that he flushed not just from his own difficulty, but also because of her compliment. She stood taller and dropped an arm over his shoulder: Straight and hand face up, ready to flex. It was a show of dominance, an act she wasn't quite sure why she wanted to do yet she'd already done it.

“And how exactly do I look good, Dipper?” she challenged, rolling with her own inexplicable momentum.

His eyes had left hers, but they quickly shot back with a spark flashing behind them. He stood taller as well with an impressive aura of his own, reaching up and gripping her bicep with a gentle squeeze.

Wendy reflexively brought her forearm up, causing the muscle under his fingers to bulge. She blushed herself, unprepared for how he met the challenge and somewhat embarrassed by it all. Dipper squeezed a bit harder and she flexed against him, furrowing her eyes in defiance.

He let go and stepped to the side, a pleased look on his face. “You look good in a lot of ways,” he said with a confident chuckle.

It was a short distance to his ladder, but Wendy’s eyes furrowed ever further at his joyful gait. She waited for him to reach the ladder so his attention would be upward, then darted forward and clambered up the side of the wooden structure so she would land just aside him right after he got comfortable in his seat. A few water balloons exploded under her butt as she pulled him in, but it was worth the squeak of fright he emitted.

“A lot of ways, huh?” she asked, her arm around his neck as she started giving him a noogie. “What's that mean?”

“Well, you haven’t lost your boobs,” Dipper laughed, gripping said arm.

Wendy frowned, realizing she had shoved him there without thinking. Even if was crass, though, she liked how he was still backtalking even in a headlock. “You like ‘em, eh?”

“O-oh, I mean, no, or yes!” Dipper actively felt hotter under her grip. “S-sorry, I just got a bit caught up…”

He was faltering, which was disappointing. She was enjoying this new Dipper, but she supposed he was the same as the town: Different, but still familiar. That was a good thing, though, as she thought on it. She didn't want him to totally erase his old self since there was a lot about that version that she liked.

Wendy loosened her grip and he pulled away looking very red. One of his hands remained on her wrist, however, and after a few seconds passed they both glanced at it. She was slightly surprised, having expected him to keep apologizing. She didn't know how to react to him holding on to her like this without saying anything.

When he did finally release her, however, he changed the subject. “That's a nice swimsuit. It suits you, er- no pun intended.”

“Yeah,” she agreed, looking down at herself and moving around a bit to see how it fit her. “I didn't spend a lot of time worrying about it at the store, but I think it looks pretty good on me. Matches my hair anyways.”

“Ha! It sure does.” Wendy noticed his eyes bouncing back and forth from her hair to her body. She tried to subtly pose with just a slight straightening of the back and brush of her hair. “Kind of nostalgic, actually.”

It wasn't the sort of comment she'd been expecting, so she paused. “Nostalgic?”

“You had that green bikini for a long time… and then another green one, a bit more foresty green, though. The last time I saw you in a one-piece was, um, my second summer here, I think?”

Wendy gasped, bringing the tips of her fingers to her agape mouth. “You’ve been keeping track of my swimsuits that much, dude? Have you been some kind of creepy pervert this whole time?”

Dipper rolled his eyes. “Three swimsuits in how many years? I don't think it's creepy or perverted to remember the details when it was that few.”

She laughed and leaned closer, wiggling an elbow under his guard and into his side. “Yeah, but my boobs? You brought them up pretty quick. How's that for creepy or perverted?”

He grimaced, but didn't move away. He was probably accepting the torment because he agreed, but Wendy wondered if he realized the lack of resistance let her drift more into his personal space, her arm slipping around his back and gripping his other side. He flinched and looked at her hand, then back at her face. She gave a nonchalant grin.

Dipper wriggled a bit, his arm awkwardly splayed out behind her now. Lifting it to a more natural position atop her shoulder, he then let out a hot puff of frustration. “Two of them were bikinis, of course I noticed your boobs. It's healthy for a guy to notice that sort of stuff.”

“Healthy? What? Just to notice it?” Wendy asked incredulously. “Dude, I've been working for a while with a ton of guys who say the ‘healthy’ part is what they do after they ‘notice’ something.”

Dipper’s eye subtly twitched. “...Oh… really?”

Well, it was good to know she could still fuck up flirting right in the middle of it; a bit different maybe, but still a bit the same, just like him. She'd been going for a masturbation joke, but his rigid reaction made her pretty sure he instantly wondered if she meant she did things with those guys. She doubted he'd think less of her for it, but she was pretty damn sure he was going to back off with that sort of tone. He did still have that paranoid old-Dipper in him, after all.

“Yeah, man. There aren't too many women up there, and there definitely aren't many my age. I made sure everyone knew I wasn't interested, though.” 

It was about the best she could do to salvage things. She took a moment to glance over at pool jail and saw Mabel watching them, slightly hunched and with two earnest fists hovering under her chin. Her cheeks were puffed with anticipation and, even at a distance, Wendy could see how her eyes sparkled with hope. She felt sort of put-upon knowing that Mabel was trying to hook them up, but then again, she had to admit she saw something of herself in that girl’s appearance.

“Oh, so you don't have a, y’know, boyfriend or anything up in Canada?” he asked, glancing away and scratching his chin idly.

‘Anything’, eh? She sensed a turnaround.

“Oh yeah, totally. Three husbands and three wives, one each day of the week and Saturday's totally for me. So don’t worry, my dude, they won't mind me doing this.” She punctuated her statement with a finger on the side of his chest, slowly dragging it down his skin.

He froze a moment, still not looking at her. His lips warbled with the hint of goofy smile that he fought against. Wendy smiled herself, glad he was obviously on board. His mouth opened slightly, then closed, then did it again. She waited patiently as he chose his words.

“Um, is it weird if I say I like how you bulked up?” Dipper asked. “I mean, I’m not being sarcastic or anything, but I just don't know how else to say it.”

Wendy giggled, a surprisingly girlish reaction from herself. “Yeah, well, if you figure out a different way then let me know. There's a guy I want to say the same thing to.”

“Wha- really? Wai-” Dipper shot a look at her then quickly stared away as he caught up to her meaning. He lifted a palm to his face. “Yeah, sure. I’ll let you know.” He swallowed and turned back, his hand falling as a bit of the prior confidence returned to his gaze. “Actually, I might know by next Saturday. I could tell you after pizza and some old movies.”

Wendy smirked. “Eh, maybe. That's pretty good info so I can't just get it for free plus all that.” She glanced about. “You don't have an assistant lifeguard, right?”

“Nope!” Dipper answered. “I sure could use one, though!”

“Great, I'll do that! Then Saturday at my dad’s place!”

“No, at the Shack.”

Wendy raised an eyebrow. “The Shack?”

“Yeah,” Dipper said, “Afraid something might happen?” He reached over and squeezed her arm again, which brought their faces close. “With these guns?”

Wendy laughed, an enjoyable warmth in her chest when he touched her. She grabbed him back, moving a tad closer herself. “Yeah, you're right. You couldn't do anything with these noodle arms even if I wanted you to.”

“Noodle arms?” he said faux-indignantly. “I can lift- wait, ‘if  _ you _ wanted  _ me _ …’” he echoed, his retort interrupted as he drifted away in thought.

Wendy giggled some more as Dipper’s expression flickered about an interesting range of emotions. He eventually just frowned deeply and reached back to pick up a balloon and shove it in her face. She didn't mind after the amusement she'd just had, simply closing her eyes and letting the water explode over her head.

“I’ll fill up some more balloons,” she said, brushing the liquid from her face and pulling away from him.

“Yeah, you do that. First task as assistant, yeah,” he mumbled, picking up another balloon and cramming it into his own. Wendy was pretty sure she saw steam rising less than a second after the water spread over his hot visage. 

And as she climbed down, just before that sight left her eyes, a cry from jail echoed across the pool for all to hear:

“Match made!”


End file.
